Adjustable counter partition



June 21, 1938, .B.ST.JOHN 2,121, 92

ADJUSTABLE COUNTER PARTITION Filed Jan. 2, 1937 IN VEN TOR. Charles B. J; John j I 2% QTTORNEY Patented June 21, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application January 2,

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a restaurant counter partition and more particularly to a counter partition movable to a position between any two of a plurality of seats at said counter.

It has been noted in restaurant work that most people prefer the privacy of a'booth although from the standpoint of the restaurant operator it is quicker and more convenient, as well as being more economical to serve people at a counter.

It is impractical to divide a counter with normal partitions due to the fact that people group themselves at the counter in varying numbers so that if fixed partitions are provided the number of seats between partitions may be either too great or too small to accommodate a particular group which may come in.

An object of the present invention is to make an improved, movable, adjustable restaurant 20 counter partition.

In order to attain this object there is provided in accordance with one feature of the invention a rail or track mounted above the counter, and,

slidably supported thereon, a plurality of mov- 25 able partitions which may be moved longitudinally oi the counter to include any desired number of seats between any two partitions.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully brought out in the following descriptionv and in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a View in perspective of a portion of a restaurant counter having a plurality of movable partitions embodying the present invention mounted thereon,

Figure 2 is a view in front elevation of a slidable partition support member, afragment of a tubular rail on which the device is mounted being illustrated,

structure shown in Figure 2 a portion of an operating handle being broken away to increase Figure 3 is a view, in side elevation of the 1937; Serial No. 118,900

of light rigid material such as plywood or sheet aluminum are each mounted on a movable support member 5 which in turn is mounted on the tubular rail 3. The carriage 5 as here illustrated comprises a housing 6 preferably of cast metal having a central opening adapted to freely receive the tubular rail 3. A pair of rollers I and 8 may be pivotally mounted in a side of the housing 6 to project slightly into the central opening so that upon pivotally moving the partition outwardly to a position at right angles from that shown in Figure 1 the rollers rest on the top of the rail and permit the partition to be more readily moved along the rail.

Extending downwardly from the housing 6, are a pair of webs 9 and Ill adapted to receive a partition 4 therebetween. The partition 4 is affixed to the webs as by means of bolts mounted in openings 12 and I3 in the webs. A socketed handle boss I4 is provided on the rear side of the housing 6 and is adapted to receive an operating handle 15 by means of which a counter attendant may swing the partition outwardly to a position above the line of seats 2 and move it along the rail to a desired position between any two of said seats. The handle is held in position in the socket in the boss M as by means of a set screw it.

A cam clamp I! (see Figure 4) may be provided to clamp the partition in an adjusted position. This clamp comprises a rounded eccentrically mounted head portion l8 and a handle portion l9. Moving the clamp IT to the solid line position illustrated in Figure 4 forces the rounded nose of the cam into clamping engagement with the rail 3 to lock the partition in position. Moving the clamp to the dotted line position of Figure 4 frees the clamp from the rail and permits the partition to be slidably moved along the rail.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications of the rail and carriage may be adapted without departing from the present invention and it is therefore not desired to limit the scope of the invention except as specifically defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A movable counter partition comprising in combination with a counter having a plurality of seats adjacent thereto, a partition supporting. rail mounted parallel to said counter, a partition secured to said support member in a plane at right angles to said rail and pivotally movable with respect to said rail, said partition being of a length to normally rest against the forward edge of said counter and having its center of gravity forwardly of said rail.

2. A movable counter partition comprising in combination with a counter having a plurality of seats adjacent thereto, a partition supporting rail mounted parallel to said counter, a partition support member slidably mounted on said rail, and a partition secured to said support member in a plane at right angles to said rail and normally positioned between any two of said seats, to have the center of gravity of said partition forwardly of said rail said partition being pivotally movable to a position beyond the line of said seats andslidably movable in said position' to a position between any other two of said seats.

3. A movable counter partition comprising in combination with a counter having a plurality of seats adjacent thereto, a partition supporting rail mounted parallel to said counter, a plurality of partition support members slidably mounted on said rail, a partition secured to each of said support members in a plane at right angles to said rail and normally positioned between two of said seats, said partition being of a length to extend below the top of said seats said partitions being pivotally movable to a position beyond the line of said seats and slidably movable in said position to include any desired number of said seats between said partitions, each of partition support members having a cam lock thereon movable to lock said partitions in adjusted position.

4. A.movable counter partition comprising in combination with a counter having a plurality of seats adjacent thereto, a partition supporting rail mounted parallel to said counter, a partition support member slidably mounted on said rail and a partition secured to said support member in plane at right angles to said rail and normally positioned between any two of said seats said partition having its center of gravity forwardly of said rail said partition being pivotally movable to a position beyond the line of said seats, for longitudinal movement on said rail and a pair of rollers mounted in said partition support mem ber and having rolling engagement with said rail, said rollers having a normal non-supporting position with respect to said rail and movable with said partition to a supporting position with respect to said rail on a pivotal movement of said partition to bring said partition beyond the line of said seats.

' CHARLES B. ST. JOHN. 

